Ghaffar Pourazar, known as the "Western Monkey King", performs an excerpt from the classic Peking Opera production
Uproar in Heaven during an International Tea Day celebration hosted by the Chinese Consulate General in Los Angeles on Friday. [Photo by RENA LI/chinadaily.com.cn]
For Ghaffar Pourazar, the legendary Monkey King from the Chinese classic Journey to the West is more than a stage character — it is a reflection of his own life journey.
Born with Azerbaijani and Iranian roots and raised in Britain, Pourazar once worked as a computer animator in London. But after watching Peking Opera for the first time in 1993 at the age of 32, he decided to completely change his life.
"I put away my other life. I said goodbye to my friends and my family. I said I want to do this," Pourazar told China Daily during a celebration of International Tea Day hosted by the Chinese Consulate General in Los Angeles on Friday.
